Amrita Virtual Academy

Online retreats and courses led by Amma's disciples, from the MA Center

Amrita Virtual Academy has no street address. It is the e-learning platform of the Mata Amritanandamayi Center, and its retreats are led by disciples of Amma (Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi), many of them from the Amritapuri math. Students stream from a computer, phone or tablet, with a sacred space, a firm chair or asana, and a notebook. The Mantra Japa Level 1 retreat shows the design most clearly. Swami Atmananda Puri teaches it as a one-day sadhana retreat in English, Spanish, French and Italian. At his request the videos stay available for only 72 hours after purchase, so the day is concentrated and resembles a retreat at Amritapuri. The pages note that Amma recommends giving one day a month to sadhana. The day begins at 6 AM with a guided purification visualization, then mantra practice with a 108-bead japa mala and a walking meditation with mantra. A satsang on the power and importance of mantra meditation follows, and students keep access to the Q&A sessions for a year. The Earth Day retreats have run on demand since 2023. The 2023 edition, with seven disciples, ran eleven hours and included archana, japa meditation in nature, a gardening panel, natural plant dyeing and bhajans for worshipping Nature. The 2024 edition, "You Are the Self-Effulgent Sun," included a guided meditation along the Amritapuri backwaters and a Sacred Bee Archana. In 2025, "The Five Mothers" covered Mother Earth, Mother Cow, Mother Vedas, Birth Mother and Motherland, with circle dance and Vedic chanting of the Medha Suktam. A weekend retreat, "Learn to Surrender and Be Fearless," starts at 6 AM with homa and archana. It adds Amrita Yoga, a panel with Amma's disciples, a cooking class and evening bhajans. The membership library holds 519 satsang lessons, 183 guided practices, 59 lessons on the Amrita Gita, 50 on Vedanta and 33 Amma movies.

Traditions: Mantra Japa Meditation, Satsang, Bhajans, Archana, Vedic Chanting, Vedanta

Programs: Sadhana Retreat: Mantra Japa Level 1, Earth Day Retreat 2023: Nurture Mother Nature, Nurture Yourself, Earth Day Retreat 2024: You Are the Self-Effulgent Sun, Earth Day Retreat 2025: The Five Mothers, Learn to Surrender and Be Fearless, Satsang Library, Guided Practices, Amrita Gita: You Are the Essence of OM